


Unlike

by ladylapislazuli



Category: Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Loki Does What He Wants, M/M, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 12:24:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5539883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladylapislazuli/pseuds/ladylapislazuli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i> Thor is not a social justice icon, you insolent fools. </i>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In which Loki discovers the world of social media.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unlike

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank you to my beta [lucymonster](http://archiveofourown.org/users/lucymonster).

_Thor Odinson_ , 247 friends.

Loki stares at the accompanying image, Thor’s profile bathed in soft light as he looks out over the city. And when Loki clicks through, a large image banner sprawls across the top of the page. Thor and his friends. Stark, Romanoff, Rogers, _Jane Foster_.

Wherever he goes, Thor manages to find himself a collection of friends as idiotic as he is. Even on Facebook, he has somehow accumulated 247.

Loki is certainly not going to ‘friend’ him.

Fortunately, however, Thor has never understood the word ‘privacy’, so his Facebook page is publically viewable. Loki is able to scroll through every inane status update Thor has ever made.

‘ _Happy New Year!’_

_‘I just tried Pepsi for the first time. Is there really a difference to Coca Cola? I do not understand the fuss.’_

_‘Good morning from New Jersey!’_

Then there are the shared articles and humorous images (usually accompanied by an eloquent “Haha!”). An endless stream of photographs: Thor at the park, Thor at a party, Thor coming down a waterslide. There is even a poorly-framed self-portrait of Thor holding a puppy in one enormous hand, his smile bright and eyes crinkled.

There should really be a ‘dislike’ button on this thing.

Most perplexing of all, Thor’s relationship status is listed as _single_. Loki is not entirely sure what to make of that.

\- - -

Thor has a lot of fans on Tumblr, despite not having an account of his own.

Fanart, gifsets, fanfiction. And theories, oh, the _theories_. Thor’s gender, his sexual preferences, even the kind of socks he wears. All up for debate. And with greater zeal and determination than a Bilgesnipe on the scent.

The other Avengers get their share of sycophants, but Thor in particular attracts an undue amount of blind adoration. Tumblr keeps calling him a _precious cinnamon roll_ , which is apparently a term of endearment.

It is funny, at first. Until one day, it is not.

_Reasons why Thor is my fave: an incomplete list_

  * _He is super nice to everybody_
  * _Like he literally just wanders around smiling and being nice and improving everybody’s day_
  * _Those arms_
  * _He is an actual honest to god prince_
  * _Basically Prince Charming_
  * _And a precious cinnamon roll uwu_
  * _He is brave and noble_
  * _That ass_



Loki stares at the post. Inane, simpering, and it has _over 1000 notes_. He hits the reblog button, and settles his fingers over the keyboard.

_Reasons why your fave is problematic:_ (Loki has always been a quick study of language, and internet terminology is no different)

  * _He is incredibly destructive. How many dollars of property damages is that now?_
  * _He has the temper of a raging rhinoceros_ (he felt a reference to Bilgesnipe would go over Midgardian heads)
  * _He is a prince and has been all his life, so his sense of entitlement is drastically inflated_
  * _He literally does not understand why he can’t just have whatever he wants, and gets angry when people don’t bend over backwards_
  * _He is handsome but he knows it, so he is both vain and cocky_
  * _He doesn’t give a damn about Tumblr_
  * _He doesn’t give a damn about you_



He posts. When he comes back the next day, his Inbox is positively _flooded_ with hate mail.

An excellent result. Loki settles into his chair, and sets about replying.

\- - -

It becomes a habit. Going online and taking Thor down a few pegs in the eyes of the public. Disputing claims, rebutting assertions, painstakingly slowing down footage and turning it into gifs to show the exact moment where Thor faltered, or slipped, or lost his temper, no matter how quickly he recovered from his slip-ups.

Loki’s Instagram is devoted entirely to pictures of the Avengers, captured in secret at inopportune moments. Thor is his usual target, but he takes photographs of the others when the opportunity arises. Rogers with his mouth wide open as he goes to bite into a burger. Romanoff with a jumper tied around her waist (apparently a great crime of fashion). Thor with a cap on backwards, or captured at an unflattering moment that makes it look like he has three chins, or that single golden image of Thor wearing _crocs._

Loki is particularly proud of that one. The internet was in uproar for days.

The hate mail continues, an unending stream of drivel, but that too is delightful in its way. Unimaginative, admittedly, as for every reasonable reply to his evidence there are at least ten poorly-spelled declarations of hatred.

_If you don’t like Thor get out of the fucking fandom asshole_

_no one gives a shit about ur dumbass opinions_

_your just trying to keep thor down but what the fuck have you ever done with your life? he is a hero so go fuck yourself_

And, his favourite, the ever-inspired and perpetually reoccurring _kill urself_

It is becoming very clear to Loki that these people cannot handle the truth about their idol.

And there is the crux of the matter. The reason why he combs through the tags, the reason why he spends hours forming well-reasoned arguments with pictorial evidence. These people do not _understand_ Thor.

He is painted either as saviour or buffoon, as righteous and noble or as a comically ignorant fool, and it rankles. Loki would be the first to call Thor an idiot, but the man is not _stupid_ , nor is he incapable of adapting to basic foreign customs and technology. He has been interacting with new and foreign cultures for centuries, so why the Midgardians think they are so special is anyone’s guess.

More to the point, even if he will never admit it aloud – Loki does not understand how these people can look at Thor so long, study and obsess and adore, yet never really see him.

They never see that beneath his good-natured gallantry lies the keen alertness of a warrior. Never see that his bows and smiles and extravagant courtly manners mask a darker man, a man as capable of kindness as he is of violence. They cannot tell the difference, cannot see, where his boldness turned brash, where bravery became recklessness, where Thor’s temper and impulse get the better of him.

They do not, _cannot_ , see the danger of that temper. They have seen Thor fight, but they have never seen him kill one of their own, and cannot imagine his hand being turned against them. They cannot not see how easily the lines can blur, friend and enemy, good and evil. They do not see how arrogant, how cruel, Thor can be.

Instead people line up around the block to shake his hand. They hand him their children, smiling and laughing and _worshipping_. They crown him with flowers – oh, how Loki hates that meme – as if Thor needs yet another crown placed upon his golden head.

So Loki sits at his laptop in the early hours of the morning. Here on Midgard, he has no need to hide his thoughts about his so-called brother. Which is how months down the line, Loki’s habit of riling people has devolved into a genuine, if controversial, position in fandom. 

\- - -

_Okay, let’s talk about Thor and social justice issues. I keep seeing him made out to be a ‘perfect cinnamon roll’ because he addresses people with the correct pronouns (which, for the record – he is speaking All-tongue, you’re just hearing what you think you should hear). And yes, fine, there is other evidence to support the interpretation that he is LGBT+ positive, and he is loud enough that any stance he takes is seen to be a vocal one._

_But guess what? You are all forgetting something._

_He is an_ actual literal prince _. The plight of the poor is beyond his understanding. He has no idea what it means to go hungry, and no experience of discrimination. He is nice to the many and various races/genders/religions here because_ he genuinely does not see the difference _. And not because he is Super Progressive, but because he is an ALIEN. One earthling is very much like another earthling to him._

_Ask him about things from_ outside _earth and you will hear a different side of him. Magic is women’s work (ingrained sexism), the Jotun are a wicked and evil people (racism). And let us not forget the part he has personally played in colonising other worlds._ Colonising _. He is from the equivalent of colonial Britain, and we all know how that turned out._

_Point being – Thor is not actually a social justice icon. He comes from a life of privilege and power. People just ask him the wrong questions._

The veritable landslide of hate mail is merely a happy side effect of the seeds of doubt he has sown. He raises a _question_ , and slowly, people begin to question things themselves. They begin to doubt, and analyse. To use their dense little heads. And consequently, they reach the inescapable conclusion that Thor is flawed. That their darling golden prince is _not perfect_ , and what they had mistaken as goodness is merely the result of being raised by an alien culture.

(Loki studiously ignores the small section of the fandom that vocally agrees with him about Thor’s flaws. What do _they_ know about Thor?)

Still, the chaos he introduces to Thor’s group of devotees is one of his crowning achievements on the internet to date. (Even better than the time he brought the World of Warcraft servers down, and _that_ resulted in real-life violence.) Arguments are made, blogs are deleted, tears are shed. And through it all, Loki sits back and watches the fandom burn.

The thing is, as acidly as he may choose to express himself, his arguments are always reasonable. No one can accuse him of causing trouble for trouble’s sake. That is the genius of it all.

It is ridiculous. It is fun. And it is _infuriating_ , for not only are Thor’s fans a bunch of idiots, but the staff have updated the site again and now Loki’s meta post about Thor’s temper tantrums will not format correctly.

He made a PowerPoint and everything.

\- - -

It is inevitable that Thor eventually catches on to whoever keeps photographing him at inopportune moments.

(Loki’s latest masterpiece is a picture of Thor in stupid aviator glasses, mouth caught hanging open mid-sentence so he looks as vacant as possible. Not to mention the extra chin.)

Loki had been anticipating a battle when Thor finally caught up to him. But Thor just looks at him for an uncomfortably long time, hovering in the doorway. Then he asks if he can come in.

Naturally, Loki shuts the door in his face.

Thor comes back, though, because he is nothing if not stubborn.

It does not bother Loki as much as it should. And it is not because of any sort of sentiment – he has _revelled_ in Thor’s absence these several months past – only that Loki has learned a new saying on Midgard. ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’ A surprising bit of wisdom from an otherwise dim-witted planet. And it is the only reason he does not dismantle his hideaway and vanish without a trace when Thor finds him.

It is also the reason why he is still there when Thor breaks the lock with his oafish strength the fifth time Loki refuses him entry, then makes himself comfortable on Loki’s couch.

Loki just rolls his eyes, and goes back to his laptop. Better to let the fool have his way, if it makes him happy. He will pay for it later.

He pointedly does not offer Thor a drink, a capital offence to basic decency. Thor does not seem to notice. He sprawls out and channel surfs while Loki taps away at his keyboard, his enormous form taking up most of the couch. He is quiet, almost nonchalant, though occasionally Loki can feel himself being watched.

Thor eventually settles on a movie, and the feeling of eyes on the back of his neck goes away, which Loki appreciates. Unfortunately the movie is _Twilight_ , which Loki appreciates considerably less. It is every bit as terrible as Loki has been informed.

And _if_ he eventually gravitates over to the couch, it is only to make sure Thor does not eat all of the dried fruit Loki keeps around for snacking.

\- - -

Thor is not there often, for all he makes himself at home whenever he turns up uninvited. The truce between them is unspoken and uneasy. Thor watches him with an alertness, an intensity, that has never been there before. Unexpected movements make him tense, and he keeps peering at Loki’s face as though he is looking for something and unable to find it. Then he looks sad, and stares at Loki’s TV with his shoulders hunched.

Loki does not care. Thor is an idiot, and Loki cares nothing for his opinions.

“Stop sulking on my couch,” he snaps every now and then when he can no longer stand it. Thor just looks him with baleful eyes until Loki either kicks him out or agrees to watch another episode of _Cops_.

He is careful to keep his little Tumblr hobby a secret. What he does with his time is none of Thor’s business. And _if_ Loki has started to dabble in shipping here and there, it is only to inflame the seemingly endless and deeply pointless battles that seem to sweep through fandom every other week.

\- - -

_Let us have a little chat about Thor, the greatest warrior of them all._

_Really?_

**_Really?_ **

_Did anyone see his last fight or was it just me?_

_His only strategy is to swing his hammer at people very hard. Sounds great in theory. But yesterday’s battle, I think, highlights the flaws in that plan._

_Notice how Thor suddenly redirects his hammer? I admit it was difficult to see, but watch closely. His feet move, his chest moves side to side as he changes his centre of gravity, then he pulls his arm in a slightly different trajectory than the one we were all expecting._

_He over-swung, then had to correct. Because brute strength above brains, right? And this is hardly the first time he almost killed someone._

\- - -

Loki gets Thor’s phone number, though he does not tell Thor he has done it. He simply slips the phone out of Thor’s pocket when Thor is busy raiding his fridge and sends a text from Thor’s phone to his. He deletes the thread after, and Thor is none the wiser.

The knowledge sits unused for a few weeks. Thor comes and goes, mostly just eating all of Loki’s snacks and hogging the remote, though occasionally he brings his own laptop to work on.

Work on _what_ Loki cannot say. Though Thor does seem to be active on Facebook more often than not.

(Thor posts on Foster’s wall several times over the course of a few weeks, but his status is _still_ listed as single.)

All is quiet for a few weeks. Inevitably, however, a new threat rears its head and Thor is called off to battle. When Loki turns on his TV and finds Thor fighting his latest foe, he goes scrabbling for his phone.

_Your hair is very fetching today. Your resemblance to a matron attending her least favourite daughter’s wedding is uncanny._

He receives a reply a few hours later.

_I’m told it is very fashionable. Besides, better to wear a bun like a matron than to fashion it into a porcupine’s behind._

Thor helpfully attaches an image of a porcupine a few moments later.

Loki sends him the poop emoji.

\- - -

The next time Thor loafs around on Loki’s couch, he persuades and cajoles and _whinges_ until Loki abandons his laptop – he was _busy_ , Thor – and sits down next to him.

They watch almost two hours of _House_ , though in truth Thor is paying little attention to the screen. His shoulders are wound tight, his eyes dark and unfocused.

He looks at Loki. Looks away again, slumping back into the cushions.

Loki rolls his eyes to the heavens. It is tempting to smack Thor in the face with a cushion, but he restrains himself.

“What is wrong with you?” he snaps.

Apparently, and against all reason, Thor takes that as a sign of sympathy, for he heaves a great sigh and launches into his sorry tale.

He is having trouble, ceding to Rogers’ leadership. It is causing tension and frustration, making the team less effective. He is not _used_ to taking orders, and certainly not from a man a mere fraction of his age.

That is what Loki reads between the lines, anyway. Mostly Thor just says “Midgardian warriors work differently” and “Rogers is a determined leader” but Loki can read the lines. He has always had to. Thor has never been skilled at introspection.

“Stop your fussing,” Loki tells him when he can stand it no longer. “You are a prince of Asgard. Either take the authority that is yours by birth, or cede that your crown carries no weight here and relinquish your claim. Act your age, and for mercy’s sake _stop_ coming around here to sulk.”

Thor goes quiet for a moment. Loki settles back into his cushions, arms folded, turning his attention back to the TV. Then, unexpectedly, Thor leans over, startling Loki into temporary complacency as he presses a kiss to his hairline.

“Thank you,” Thor says, and he is so sincere that Loki almost squirms beneath the weight of his gaze.

“Just hold your tongue and watch the show,” Loki snaps.

Thor smiles, settling into a comfortable position on the couch. His swings his arm up to rest over the back of it, so close he is almost touching Loki’s shoulder.

“Is it lupus?” he asks. For a moment Loki is baffled, then he remembers the TV. On the screen, the doctors scurry urgently around a patient so badly off that the effect is almost comical.

Loki snorts, shaking his head. “It never is.”

\- - -

Unfortunately, his time in hiding must eventually draw to a close.

He finds himself back on the field, combatting the Avengers in an alliance with a mad scientist and getting a sound beating for his troubles.

He had no real _plan_ in mind. Really, he just wanted to pop his head in and say hello. The look on Thor’s face was worth a few bruises.

Now, though, back in his apartment with an icepack pressed to his head, Loki only feels tired. He opens his laptop, browses mindlessly through his dashboard, reblogging a few nice images to his aesthetic side blog.

And then a little red number appears above the Inbox button. He clicks.

_So are you happy Loki’s back? Given how much you hate Thor I bet you’re thrilled to see him getting kicked around._

Loki thinks of the way Thor’s eyes went wide. The way his eyes swam with tears before – _before_ – Loki kicked him right in the gut. Thinks of how Thor bellowed his name, face distorting in anger, Mjolnir limp at his side.

Loki’s fingers hesitate above the keyboard. Then, he types _No_

He does not go on. _No?_ No what? The curser hovers between submit and discard.

Loki snaps the laptop shut, and drags himself off to bed.

\- - -

He does not see Thor for a few weeks, after that. No turning up uninvited at his doorstep. No text messages. Nothing.

Loki does not care. He is merely observing the fact.

He spends most of his time licking his wounds and scrolling through the internet. News sites went wild when he first reappeared, but while their interest has died down as he lies low, social media is still very much active.

He has seen himself called names on Twitter so creative that not even he would have been able to think them up.

Thor is all but bombarded with sympathy, of course. Only a few people are suspicious – Loki has to _look_ to find them – that Thor might be somehow in ‘cahoots’ with him (whatever that means), but most are just outraged.

Footage of Thor’s face right before Loki broke his nose is all over Tumblr. That stupid kicked-dog expression on his face all but undoes the hard work Loki has been doing over the last few months. Thor is a _precious angel_ and a _poor baby_ and _must be protected at all costs._

It is funny, really. Loki is laughing. It is _funny_. (Loki all but throws the laptop across the room before he remembers how much it cost.)

They can paint Loki as a villain all they like, but they do not know the truth. They do not know how Loki learned violence _from Thor_. They have never seen him wading through a field of Frost Giants and _laughing_ as their heads come off, _enjoying_ the destruction of a race he has always hated, of a people who have always been _lesser_ , of _Loki’s_ –

He throws the laptop.

He is lucky it is only the screen that cracks.

\- - -

Loki should relocate his hideaway, now he and Thor are fighting on different sides again. He has drawn first blood, so no doubt Thor is angry, and his vengeance will be swift. Loki needs to disappear again. He has gotten very good at it.

He does not do it.

Some weeks later, when Thor finally appears on his doorstep, he seems surprised. He looks Loki up and down as if expecting an apparition. Frowns when he realises – _senses_ , perhaps, for Thor pays more attention to magic these days – that the real Loki stands before him.

“I did not think you would still be here,” Thor says.

Loki shrugs.

For a long moment, they stand in the doorway. Loki does not invite him in, and Thor does not push. Instead they just… stare. And Loki can see the anger simmering in Thor’s eyes, but he does not look away.

“Can I help you with something?” Loki says eventually.

Thor snorts, scoffs really, a mixture of resignation and disgust. Then he turns around.

He leaves.

Loki shuts the door, clicks the lock into place.

It does not matter to him. It does not.

He goes back to his laptop. Yet somehow, baiting Avengers fans on Twitter holds little joy tonight.

\- - -

Eventually, Thor comes back.

Something loosens in Loki’s chest when he opens the door.

Thor enters without so much as a greeting and Loki… Loki steps back to let him pass. He _technically_ did not invite him in, so no one can claim Loki made any friendly overtures. But he does not kick Thor out either.

And when Thor settles on the couch and turns on the TV, Loki goes over to his laptop and starts typing. The noise of the television – quiet, for Thor never lets it blare – is familiar and easy to tune out.

Less easy is the atmosphere that settles across the room. Thor might be _pretending_ everything is normal, but Loki can all but feel the electric charge in the air. He _knows_ Thor’s moods, and he feels this one like a weight in his chest.

Thor is on the alert, so Loki is too.

He keeps typing, though, even when Thor’s presence distracts him. He doubts Thor is paying much attention to the television – Loki can feel eyes on his back again, though he refuses to acknowledge them – but this is what they do. This is what they have _always_ done, ever since they were children.

Pretend.

Loki goes back to the post he was halfway through writing and, forcing his attention back to the screen, begins to type.

_As I said above, you have to watch the movement of the feet to actually understand what I’m talking about. See how Thor turns in the third gif? It’s a visibly awkward movement, he looks like he’s twisting his own organs. And that is because in one ingenious twist, he moved his whole body off-balance._

_Then we come to the_ next _gif, and this is where the fun begins. So he’s off-balance, and now he has to correct it. So what does he do? Wheels his hammer around._

_Genius._

_Except wait, he immediately gets smacked in the face by_

“What are you doing?”

Loki is quite certain his heart just froze in his chest.

Slowly, he turns his head to look at Thor. The man is leaning over his shoulder, and it is far too late for Loki to slam the laptop shut.

When did he move? How much has he seen?

“None of your business,” Loki says, but it comes out higher and more wheedling than he intends.

“This is Tumblr.”

“Well spotted,” Loki snaps. And there, his tone is getting back to normal.

Loki runs through his options. Tell Thor to go away, and reveal a sore spot. Keep typing, and maintain his dignity.

There is really only one choice.

Thor pulls up a chair from the kitchen, and watches him go. Reads as Loki writes – and Loki has always _hated_ that, for Thor always feels the need to offer suggestions. And whinge.

“That was _intentional_ ,” he gripes from Loki’s side. Though he makes no move to take the laptop from Loki and correct it.

And then, a few minutes later, “Is there really a need to call your readers impertinent sea-eels?”

Not long after, “You missed a comma!”

Loki is going to strangle him.

At last Thor goes quiet, and Loki thinks he might have taken the hint. Until he says, thoughtful and curious, “Why do you spend so much time correcting strangers? And do not tell me this is the first time, for I know you better. Is this what you have been doing, all this time on Midgard?”

He could lie. But Thor is looking at his with piercing eyes, and Loki knows there is no lie he will accept. He is convinced he is right. Better to take a subtler approach.

Loki meets Thor’s eyes and curls his lips into a sneer. “I correct them because they are _wrong_ , Thor. Why do you think? They paint you as some golden creature – the mighty prince. They exalt you. Only I know what you really are.”

“And what am I, Loki?” Thor smiles at him wryly, long hair brushing against his shoulder, eyes crinkling. Loki’s heart stutters in his chest.

“An arrogant fool,” he replies.

Thor shrugs his great shoulders. “True enough.”

And Loki does not know what to do with that. He expects another fight, for that is how things always go. But this time Thor does not respond to Loki’s barbs. He smiles, as though he has heard something altogether different from Loki’s sharp words. As though their dance amuses him.

Loki keeps typing.

“Does it truly bother you so much?” Thor asks, a few moments later, when Loki starts dishing out insults.

Admittedly ‘you insolent walnuts’ is hardly his best, but it has an edge of ridiculous humour to it that seems particularly cutting in online debates.

“It is not a personal matter,” Loki says. “I cannot stand the simpering, and I educate where I see fit.”

Thor grins all of a sudden, lop-sided, and Loki cannot help turning to look at it in full.

“I am glad to have you at my back, brother,” Thor tells him.

An interesting take on nearly 500 words pointing out every tiny flaw of a badly-executed battle manoeuvre, but Loki chooses to ignore it.

He finishes his post, hits submit. Then ignores Thor as he stands, shutting his laptop with a snap lest Thor get any ideas, and walks into the kitchen for a glass of water.

One glass. He makes no attempt at hospitality. Thor can get his own.

Thor is blocking his way out of the kitchen, though, when Loki turns around. He stands in the doorway, just… watching.

Loki raises a brow, leaning his hip against the counter in as bored a pose as he can muster.

“I have been thinking, of late,” Thor says, in the tone of one who means to go on talking for a while yet.

“Careful, you might hurt yourself,” Loki says, just to irritate him. Thor hates it when people interrupt his grand speeches.

But Thor only snorts. Then, quite suddenly, he steps in close, merely a stride away in Loki’s tiny kitchen. Loki resists the urge to back up, and meets Thor’s eyes dead-on.

“I have been such a fool,” Thor tells him. “For far longer than I care to admit.”

“You were a fool from the moment you were born,” Loki says. His voice comes out strangled, though. Thor is so close that Loki can see the flecks in the blue of his eyes.

Thor reaches out, and his hands trail down Loki’s arms. Then – slowly, tentatively – they come to rest at Loki’s waist.

“Is it too late to better myself?”

Thor’s grip is loose enough that Loki could pull away at any moment. It must be intentionally so, for Loki knows better than anyone the strength in those arms. Thor does not wish to trap him, touches him as though he uncertain of his welcome.

“I thought you were angry with me,” Loki says, more mechanically than anything else. He never expected this, not for a moment. And surely, Thor must be angry. They fought, that is what they _do_. That is their game, their pattern, an endless eternity of sweat and blood. They fight.

Loki stands frozen in Thor’s grip. There is no anger in Thor’s eyes. Just… Vulnerability, uncertainty, affection. All swimming in a sea of blue.

Thor leans forward, telegraphing his intent. He kisses Loki full on the mouth, lips sure where the touch of his hands is tentative, soft where the rest of him is unyielding.

Loki makes a noise, and Thor pulls back. Looks into his eyes, searching.

Loki leans forward and kisses him back.

\- - -

Loki receives a Facebook friend request from _Thor Odinson_ , accompanied by a message.

_Loki,_

_These last few years have been difficult, but I wish for us to move forward. You are and will always my brother, but now I am left with the hope that we may be something more. I want to ask you, as simply as I can, if you are willing._

_From the kisses we shared, I believe I am not a fool to hope._

_I have missed you._

Loki’s throat closes. He reads the message over, once, then twice. His hands are trembling as he types:

_Did you just ask me out over Facebook?_

And then, because his heart is racing, because for a single moment he feels it with every fibre of his being, feels _alive_ , he types:

_My answer is yes._

And then, with a click of the cursor, he accepts Thor’s friend request.


End file.
